I’m pregnant! What foods do I need to avoid?
As if you don’t have enough to think about soon after finding out that you’re pregnant, you also need to think about changing your dietary habits as well! One thing that should be on your mind is making improvements to your diet (if needed) and, importantly, what foods you might need to steer clear of too.
During pregnancy there are certain foods that you need to avoid due to the risk they may have on you or your developing baby’s health. One thing to stress though is that most foods are absolutely fine to eat, and advice is still very much to eat a healthy and well balanced diet throughout pregnancy. Having a healthy, balanced diet during pregnancy means eating foods from all of the four main food groups: wholegrain starchy foods; fruits and vegetables; dairy foods and protein-rich foods.
For most people, this means that you can carry on eating your favourite foods, unless they fall into the categories or food options below.
What foods do I need to avoid?
- Different types of soft or blue cheese – you can find out more from this link –> what cheeses you need to avoid during pregnancy
- Under-cooked meats and unpasturised milks and dairy
- Certain types of fish such as swordfish, shark or marlin as well as under-cooked fish
- Liver and liver products such as pate
- You also need to avoid alcohol and reduce your intake of caffeine to no more than 200mg a day. This is because both alcohol and caffeine may have a negative effect on your developing foetus, as they can both cross the placenta and enter your baby’s blood stream. Caffeine can result in low birth weight babies and excessive alcohol consumption can lead to foetal alcohol syndrome.
For more information on what not to eat while pregnant, take a look at my Pregnancy Nutrition blog section or some of these specific blogs:
Top Tips to healthy eating during pregnancy: https://www.srnutrition.co.uk/2017/06/top-tips-healthy-eating-during-pregnancy
Alcohol during pregnancy advice: https://www.srnutrition.co.uk/2016/12/alcohol-pregnancy-whats-current-advice
Top Ten Healthy Snacks During Pregnancy: https://www.srnutrition.co.uk/2017/01/healthy-snacks-during-pregnancy